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Jun 16, 2021 17 tweets 6 min read Read on X
Today in pulp: what makes a good opening sentence for a pulp novel?

Now this is a tricky one…
The opening sentence has an almost mythical status in writing. Authors agonise for months, even years, about crafting the right one. Often it’s the last thing to be written.
Which is odd, because very few people abandon a book if they don’t like the first sentence. It’s not like the first sip of wine that tells you if the Grand Cru has been corked! Most people at least finish Chapter One.
But there’s a common belief that the first sentence must pull the reader into the novel. It must also be a firm handshake between the author and the reader, set the mood, indicate the tone of voice, prove the author can spell and many other things.
Gordon Lish is (probably) the High Priest of the opening sentence. “The attack sentence,” as he calls it, forms the first provocation to the reader. Every following sentence must expand, loop back, reflect or conflict with what precedes it.
But pulp is a bit different from general fiction. It has its own norms and standards and the opening pulp sentence normally has to work with these as well.

So what does it need to do?
Well there’s already a lot of things that pull a reader into a pulp book: the cover art, the title, the strapline, the back cover blurb, and most importantly the genre. Pulp readers tend to know what they’re getting into before they even read the first sentence of the book.
Which is why a pulp first sentence often tries to confirm to the reader that they are indeed in the expected genre. Is this really military sci-fi, or just space adventure with epaulettes? The opening sentence should reassure you where you are.
For some genres this expectation is front-loaded: Westerns start with a western scene; hard-boiled detectives start with a hard-boiled sentence; space opera starts in space. Begin anywhere else and the reader feels on edge.
But for others it’s a slow simmer: horror stories don’t start with horror, love stories don’t begin with love. The genre expectation is we build up to these moments, so we don’t want to start in the middle of the action. Otherwise we worry if we’re actually in the right book.
The second job of the first sentence is to play the rhythm of the genre. Is this staccato, on-the-nose storytelling? (“Hank counted the stack of money.” Chester Himes, A Rage In Harlem)...
...or is it lyrical mystery? (“The man came out of the twilight when the greenish yellow of the sun’s last light shrill lingered in parts of the west.” Clifford D Simak, Time And Again)
...or is it haunted sensibility? (“To see Menfreya at its best was to see it in the morning.” Victoria Holt, Menfreya)
Knowing the rhythm early on really does matter in pulp. How violent, or emotional, or witty, or laconic, or clever-clever the story is needs signaling early on to reassure the reader they made the right purchase.
So as a rule of thumb count the number of adjectives in the opening sentence and then check the scansion. Less of both shows the novel tends towards toughness. Unrhythmical adjectives indicate cleverness. Concise poetry means the heart is talking.
Which doesn’t mean all the other opening sentence jobs are not important: setting the mood, framing the story, introducing the main character, punching the reader in the face…
...it just means that in pulp the book cover has already made a promise to the reader. The opening sentence confirms the author is likely to cash the cheque.

More stories another time.

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More from @PulpLibrarian

Jun 30
Given the current heatwave, I feel obliged to ask my favourite question: is it time to bring back the leisure suit?

Let's find out... Image
Now we all know what a man's lounge suit is, but if we're honest it can be a bit... stuffy. Formal. Businesslike. Not what you'd wear 'in da club' as the young folks say. Image
So for many years tailors have been experimenting with less formal, but still upmarket gents attire. The sort of garb you could wear for both a high level business meeting AND for listening to the Moody Blues in an espresso bar. Something versatile. Image
Read 16 tweets
Jun 29
Time once again for my occasional series "Women with great hair fleeing gothic houses!"

Let's see what's in the library... Image
The Voice of the House, by Margaret Erskine (an Inspector Finch Gothic Mystery). Ace Gothic, 1973.

She'll fall over if she leans like that. Image
The Three Sisters of No End House, by Mona Farnsworth. Ace Gothic, 1972.

I said she'll fall over if she leans like that! Image
Read 10 tweets
Jun 27
Today in pulp I look back at the publishing phenomenon of gamebooks: novels in which YOU are the hero!

A pencil and dice may be required for this thread... Image
Image
Gamebooks are a simple but addictive concept: you control the narrative. At the end of each section of the story you are offered a choice of outcomes, and based on that you turn to the page indicated to see what happens next. Image
Gamebook plots are in fact complicated decision tree maps: one or more branches end in success, but many more end in failure! It's down to you to decide which path to tread. Image
Read 22 tweets
Jun 18
Time for a pulp countdown now, and today it's my top 10 public relations campaigns! Image
At no 10: prunes! Let's get this party started. Image
At no 9: butter! Don't suffer from a lack of it. Image
Read 12 tweets
Jun 15
You know what I haven't done in a while? Bad book covers!

Let's change that... Image
Ooh you little lyre... Guardian Angels, by Joseph Citro. Zebra Books, 1988. Image
How I answer the door in the mornings... Encounters With Aliens, by George W. Earley. Charter House, 1978. Image
Read 13 tweets
May 11
He was the terror of London; a demonic figure with glowing eyes and fiery breath who could leap ten feet high. The penny dreadfuls of the time wrote up his exploits in lurid terms. But who was he really?

Today I look at one of the earliest pulp legends: Spring-Heeled Jack! Image
London has always attracted ghosts, and in the 19th Century they increasingly left their haunted houses and graveyards and began to wader the capital's streets.

But one apparition caught the Victorian public attention more than most... Image
In October 1837 a 'leaping character' with a look of the Devil began to prey on Londoners. Often he would leap high into the air and land in front of a carriage, causing it to crash. It would then flee with a high-pitched laugh.

The public soon named him "Spring-Heeled Jack." Image
Read 14 tweets

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